The Madrigal Singers of Clarksburg will be performing a free community concert as part of their Christmas season on Friday, December 9 at 7 p.m. at West Virginia Wesleyan College. The concert will be held at the Culpepper Auditorium of the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts.

 

Under the direction of 1977 Wesleyan alumnus Don Gardner, the Madrigal Singers is made up entirely of volunteer musicians who meet weekly to rehearse through the fall and spring. Members are drawn from all across the region, including Clarksburg, Buckhannon, Salem, and Morgantown. The group specializes in performing the music of the Elizabethan renaissance (1500-1620) but also branches out to some more contemporary and familiar carols during the Christmas season. Elaborate period costumes add an element of visual interest complementing the music, which is performed unaccompanied and from memory.

 

Founded in 1938 by C. C. Arms, a music instructor at Washington Irving High School in Clarksburg, the Madrigal Singers has been in continuous existence for 78 years. For much of that time, E. W. “Bill” James, who co-owned James and Law Company in Clarksburg and who composed the song “My Home Among the Hills” for the West Virginia centennial in 1963, served as director of the group. Gardner succeeded him, and himself has led the group for over 30 years. The Madrigal Singers have been invited to perform throughout the region, including at the Greenbrier Resort, Fort New Salem, Stonewall Jackson Resort, the Waldomore, and the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

 

The concert is free and open to the public.

 

Pictured are just a few of the Madrigal Singers of Clarksburg.